England vs Pakistan, 1st Test Live Updates: Pakistan captain Babar Azam was ruled out of the first test against England starting on Wednesday because of a hand injury.

Babar was struck on the middle finger of his right hand while batting against the West Indies this month, and hit again in a warmup game last week in Beckenham.

“Pakistan captain Babar Azam is unavailable for the first test match,” Pakistan coach Sarfaraz Ahmed said on Tuesday. “Salman Agha will be the captain for the first test.”

Meanwhile, Joe Root will lead England again as he begins his second stint as full-time Test captain. Root stepped down from the role three years ago, but now returns at a time when England are moving into a new phase following the retirement of Ben Stokes and the departure of Brendon McCullum. Marcus Trescothick is currently in interim charge until Stephen Fleming takes over as head coach later this year.